Episode 1

By John Mortimer.
Adapted for radio by Richard Stoneman.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Timothy West star as the younger and elder Rumpole in this new story.

In 1964, Rumpole returns to Oxford, where he studied law, to defend a young gardener, Peter Vernon, accused of blackmailing the Master of St Joseph's College, Sir Michael Tuffnell.

Peter and Sir Michael had enjoyed a friendship that provoked rumours of homosexuality - still illegal in those days. Sir Michael has gone to the police alleging Peter was about to accuse him publicly of sodomy. Peter denies the charge and, indeed, is engaged to be married to his solicitor - a young woman by the name of Sue Galton. Rumpole sees through a plot to depose the Master and, sensing Peter's underlying honesty, he defends his client. But, in doing so, he's forced to re-assess the choices he's made in his career and his marriage to She Who Must Be Obeyed.

Director: Marilyn Imrie
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.